Myanmar must take back its nationals

News desk: Describing the atrocities unleashed by the Myanmar military as ‘acts against humanity and violation of human rights’, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Rohingya refugees are Myanmar nationals and it must take its citizens back, reports UNB.

She also said Bangladesh wants to maintain peace and good relations with its neighbouring countries, but it cannot accept ‘unjust acts’ the Myanmar government is committing. The Prime Minister was speaking while visiting a registered Rohingya camp and distributing relief materials among the Rohingya refugees at Kutupalong Bazar in Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar.

“Still, the fire is burning there…people can’t find out their family members…the bodies of infants and women are floating on the Naf River, these go completely against humanity and are violation of human rights. What sin and crimes these innocent children, women and people have committed…we can’t tolerate such activities,” the Prime Minister bemoaned.

She further said, “We want peace, we want good relations with our neighbouring countries, but we can’t tolerate and accept any injustice.”

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh protests these injustice and inhumane attitude towards the Rohingya people in Rakhine state, and renewed her call to the international community to mount pressure on the Myanmar government to take back their nationals.

“Myanmar has to take back their nationals, give them a safe place to live in their homeland. The international community should put pressure on Myanmar as they’re committing such atrocities on Rohingya people … this has to be stopped,” she added.

Denouncing the terror attack on the Myanmar border police and military base, the Prime Minister said her government will never allow any insurgent to use its land against the neighbours. “I’ll ask the Myanmar government to find out the real culprits and as the neighbouring country, we’ll help them in this connection,” she said.

She, however, said her government cannot accept the intimidation of women and children in the name of a clampdown on terrorists in Rakhine state.

Hasina urged all concerned to refrain from carrying out terror attacks in the future which could mount miseries and sufferings on tens

of thousands of innocent people, including women and children, time and again there. Expressing her profound grief at the sufferings of the Rohingya people, she said the reason for which they were compelled to take refuge in Bangladesh is very unfortunate. The Prime Minister called for creating a ‘safe zone’, if necessary, inside Myanmar under the supervision of the United Nations to protect the innocent people. “The full implementation of recommendations of the Kafi Annan Commission may help in this regard,” she said.

Earlier, on her arrival at the Katupalong refugee camp, the Prime Minister saw for herself the condition of the Myanmar nationals staying there.

She talked to the Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh following inhuman torture on them and burning of their houses by Myanmar government forces over the last two weeks.

The Myanmar refugees burst into tears before the Prime Minister while narrating their sufferings and how they were tortured. According to the United Nations, over 3 lakh Myanmar nationals belonging to the Rohingya minority group intruded into Bangladesh in the last two weeks after eruption of the latest spate of violence in Rakhine state.